THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Riding a fierce anti-incumbency wave against the Left across the state, the BJP-led NDA scripted a striking comeback in Kerala, reopening its account with three assembly seats after drawing a blank in 2021. The alliance not only reclaimed its previous stronghold of Nemom but also broke through in Chathannoor and Kazhakkoottam where it finished runner-up in the previous two elections.
While expectations of a double-digit tally remained elusive, the NDA’s surge was unmistakable: a sharper vote share, stronger second-place finishes, and a widening footprint that signalled a more formidable presence for the front in Kerala’s political landscape.
Speaking to reporters at the party headquarters here, BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who won from Nemom, termed the poll an “anti-CPM election”. He alleged that public anger over corruption and the reported misappropriation of gold from Sabarimala had worked against the LDF. “There was high anti-incumbency sentiment and both we [the BJP] and the Congress reaped the benefit,” he said.
Party insiders attributed the Nemom victory to months of meticulously planned groundwork. Rajeev’s familiarity with the electorate, having contested the 2024 Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, and his image as a technocrat also worked to his advantage.In Chathannoor, BJP candidate B B Gopakumar’s persistence after two previous setbacks, combined with the absence of CPI strongman G S Jayalal from the fray, helped the party wrest a seat long considered a Left bastion.
Meanwhile, V Muraleedharan’s victory in Kazhakkoottam is largely attributed to his sustained grassroots work since 2016, when he lost to Kadakampally Surendran.
However, the BJP faced setbacks in Palakkad and Manjeshwar, where it had hoped to register wins this time. The party’s seasoned vote-pullers, K Surendran and Sobha Surendran, saw victory slip away by considerable margins, largely attributed to a strong pro-UDF wave.
In terms of vote share, the NDA appears to have improved its overall tally in the state. In the previous assembly election, the alliance’s vote share had dipped to 12.51%. This time, it has risen to around 14.2%, translating to a little over 30 lakh votes, according to provisional figures with the Election Commission of India (ECI).